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re: Kindred Spirits (1Samuel 18:1)

"Now when [David] had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan 
was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." 
(1Sam18:1)

In John ch17 Jesus prays to the Father that Believers might be "one". 
(vs21) This oneness is with each other as we are of "one mind" (Ac15:25, 
1Cor1:10, 2Cor13:11), and "with the Father" (1Jn1:3) as we are 
"branches" abiding in Christ the Vine. (Jn15)

But what is the basis of this oneness? Is it LuuuuuuuV? Did not Jesus 
command, "...that you love one another as I love you." (Jn15:12)?? Does 
it come about by gathering all "people-of-faith" together under the roof 
of a huge building, and begin to dialogue with each other, sharing one 
another's (differing) beliefs with one another, getting committees of 
seminarically-educated scholars and great men together to discuss and 
-decide- 'which' of all 'beliefs' of all the -divergent- 'faiths' to 
agree to accept between each other in joint mutuality, and compile and 
publish an edict, an encyclical, a creed, a statement...whatever they 
jointly agree to call it...and proclaim their mutual love and "unity" 
based on such a convergence and modifying of 'differing' beliefs?  And 
then, everybody all goes home, happy at such "love", as they return each 
to their -different- 'faiths'..??  After all, isn't that what God's 
graaaeeeesss is? It really doesn't matter 'what' we believe, nor 'how' 
we conduct our lives as long as we are "sinceeeere", because 
"graaaeeesss" is said to "accept us JUST AS WE ARE".

This so-called luuuuv also accepts sodomites just-as-they-are as "God's 
children" because, after all, we have the example of Jonathan and David 
here. When Jonathan died, in the "Song of the Bow" (2Sam1:18) David 
eulogizes Jonathan, "You have been very pleasant to me; your love to me 
was wonderful, surpassing the love of women." (vs26)  Seeee?? God 
accepts sodomites and their luuuving relationships, too!!  Mmmm???

Let us seek to "rightly divide" (2Tm2:15) the Scriptures a moment...

What did Jonathan and David have in common? Everybody remembers David's 
battle with Goliath, and little children color them in their coloring 
books. But what do we know about Jonathan?

Israel was at war with the Philistines, and Jonathan decides "..let us 
go over to the garrison of the Philistines.." (1Sam14:1) and he and his 
armorbearer discuss between themselves how to approach the Philistines, 
and the armorbearer is with Jonathan in spirit, "Do all that is in your 
heart. Turn then; behold, I am with you according to your heart." (vs7)

So, when the pre-decided set of circumstances present themselves, 
Jonathan goes along striking down, and his armorbearer following behind, 
killing the ones Jonathan strikes down wounded. And before the day is 
over, due to what Jonathan starts, there is a major routing of the 
Philistines, and those of Israel that had been whimpering, hiding in 
caves, come on out and join in the routing of the enemy, after the 
Philistines had begun fighting each other in the confusion. (Read about 
it in 1Sam ch14)

Now...while the rest of Israel was hiding away...what was in Jonathan's 
heart that gave him such courage? He says to his armorbearer, "..let us 
go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that Jehovah 
will work for us; for nothing restrains Jehovah, to save by many or by 
few." (vs6)

Who is doing the fighting? Jehovah! And what are Jehovah's limits? 
"Nothing".

Now, moving ahead to David... as we observed years ago in the "David" 
series, Goliath is uttering curses at this scrawny little kid coming 
towards him, and says...come here you little #@#@#@ and I'll feed you to 
the birds. (1Sam17:43-44) 

And what does David respond?  You are relying on your great size, 
weapons and training... "But I am coming to you in the name of Jehovah 
of Hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have reproached. This 
day Jehovah will deliver you into my hand..." (vs45-46)

Again...WHO was doing the fighting? Jehovah! Why? Goliath had reproached 
God, and Israel, God's elect. (Oh, that today's world leaders would not 
ignore this concept, at their own peril! to their own hurt! and that of 
their nations!)

Jonathan says: God is not limited in effecting victory, whether by many 
or by a few.  David says: You've got overwhelming military superiority, 
but I come as a representative of the Most High.

You see... -THAT- is wherein Jonathan and David's hearts were "knit" 
together. -THAT- was the basis of their love for one another...not so 
much that they loved each other...but that they each loved God SO MUCH, 
and they were in harmony in their love for God. 

This is the very basis of what Jesus prayed in John ch17. Oneness 
between True Christians exists because Believers "love God". 
(1Jn3:10,17, 4:2)  

And again please remember: This is -NOT- a loving of the world. Remember 
that Jesus' 'prayer' was -NOT- "for the world". (Jn17:9) Christians are 
-NOT- to love the world... "Do not love the world or the things in the 
world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 
(1Jn2:15)  When John reviews the comparison of our love for God, and our 
love for each other, it is the love of "his -brother-". Nobody in the 
world is the Christian's "brother". They are of -satan- "as their 
father". (Jn8:44)  God is our "Father in Heaven". (Mt5:16,45, 6:9, etc) 
The world and we are of two separate, distinct families. The world is a 
"brotherhood" unto itself. And Believers in Jesus Christ are "brothers" 
of each other in Christ.  This is a -different- kind of 'brotherhood' 
from the one wherein we are all of "one blood" through Adam and Noah. 
(Ac17:26)  Those of the world try to include us in their satanic 
ecumenicity, by magnanimously calling us "brothers". But we are -NOT- 
"brothers" with them. Do not be deceived.

True kindredness is possible from one Believer to another person when 
that other person is also a Believer. And such faith comes out in 
actions. (Jac2:14-26)  How better to be knit, than the demonstration of 
one's faith in God's might through putting one's own life in jeopardy 
out of trust in the Most High, and being the catalyst for seeing God 
work mightily! One of the ways the early church commended fellow-workers 
to Believers they were newly meeting, was to express that they were 
"..men who have given their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." (Ac15:26)

As I sometimes watch accounts of past wars on Public TV, and interviews 
with surviving veterans of those wars, one recent thing I saw was of WW2 
fighter pilots. As diverse as they may have been, regarding their 
upbringing, geographic culture, and other ideologies...when they became 
pilots together in warfare, looking out for each other and relying upon 
each other, to be able to get the job done and come home 'alive'...they 
expressed a special kindred spirit with each other, the likes of which 
did not exist between any of them and anybody else, including spouses. 
Similar things are said by those who endured torture together as POWs, 
and eventually survived and came home. Those are 'human' relationships.

HOW MUCH MORE when the basis for kindredness is Jehovah, the Most High 
God! Such are true kindred spirits. Of such were Jonathan and David.

And such are True Believers in Jesus Christ! It does not come about from 
stadium-filled pep-rallies trying to drum-it-up. (Such groups are not 
-really- In Christ...the fact that they are 'trying' to drum-it-up 
proves it, by definition). It is -ALREADY- there for those "who do not 
walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit" (Rom8:1) and 
who do not "love their lives unto death" (Rev12:11) for the sake of 
their witness to Jesus Christ (Mt16:25); because there is NO GREATER 
LOVE than what lays it's life down for its "friend", Jesus Christ. 
(Jn15:13-14)

Amen!

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